One key MASH character is missing from the show’s most acclaimed episode, but they had a great excuse. Despite becoming one of the biggest shows on television during the 1970s, many actors exited MASH during the early years. It quickly became clear that Alan Alda’s Hawkeye was the MVP, but the attention the showrunners paid to him led to cast members like Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson feeling like their characters were pushed aside. Stevenson’s decision to leave led to MASH killing Herny Blake in season 3’s finale, which became a watershed moment in television.

While it wasn’t intended to be that way, the finale also marked Rogers’ final appearance as Trapper, with the actor quitting between seasons 3 and 4. In a way, the show’s actor exits allowed it to evolve and stay fresh, since the characters brought in to replace them brought in a new dynamic. MASH ran for 11 seasons, with the fourth series being considered one of its strongest. Season 4’s “The Interview” is commonly hailed as MASH’s best episode, with this outing seeing the 4077th being interviewed by wartime correspondent Clete Roberts.

Loretta Swit’s Margaret Missed Out On MASH’s “The Interview” Due To A Play

Margaret’s absence in “The Interview” is never addressed

“The Interview” features scenes with all the major players, including Hawkeye, Radar (Gary Burghoff), Klinger (Jamie Farr), and more. “The Interview’s” black and white documentary look gives it a more grounded feel and while it has some gags, it might be the most serious outing of the entire series. One character missing from MASH’s “The Interview” is Loretta Swit’s Margaret. Despite being credited, Swit’s Margaret is nowhere to be seen in “The Interview,” which was because the actress was appearing in the play Same Time, Next Year when it was shot.

Starring in a sitcom that films 20 plus episodes per season is demanding on any actor, making the opportunities to appear in other movies or TV shows limited. Same Time, Next Year is a romantic comedy play about two married people who meet once a year to continue an affair, with Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin being the first actors to play the lead roles. Swit and Ted Bessell took over from December 1975 to June 1976 (via Internet Broadway Database), with the play being a great opportunity for the former to break away from her MASH character.

Unfortunately, this meant she missed out on “The Interview,” one of the show’s top outings. The episode itself never addresses where Margaret is either, making her absence all the more noticeable.

Swit Never Missed Another MASH Episode After “The Interview”

Margaret reported for duty for every MASH episode from season 5 onward

Swit’s commitment to performing in Same Time, Next Year meant she missed several episodes of MASH’s fourth season. The actress also pushed for Margaret to become less of a stick in the mud for the fifth season, and for the character to get some genuine development. This is why Margaret breaks up with Frank Burns (Larry Linville), and generally becomes more of a fleshed-out human being. Perhaps Swit was disappointed to miss out on “The Interview” too, since Margaret appeared in every single MASH episode after it aired, right to the finale.

There was a moment when Swit tried to exit MASH after she played Cagney in the original Cagney & Lacey pilot movie. She wanted to continue to play the role for the TV series, but despite CBS running both shows, they refused to let her out of her MASH contract. Swit and Alda were also the only two actors who appeared in both the first and final episodes. While Father Mulcahy also appeared in the pilot and the finale, in the former, he was played by George Morgan, while William Christopher later replacing him for the rest of the show.

Margaret Appeared In MASH’s “Interview” Sequel In Season 7

Margaret finally got her “Interview” in a later series

“The Interview” might be up there in terms of MASH’s best episodes, but one that is cited as a clunker is season 7’s “Our Finest Hour.” This serves as a sequel to “The Interview,” where Roberts returns to camp for further insights into life at the 4077th. Unfortunately, “Our Finest Hour” is a clip show, with footage from previous episodes and “The Interview” sprinkled in between new scenes. This approach makes “Our Finest Hour” the only episode where every cast member appears – even though that’s only thanks to archive footage.

The documentary footage is also lacking in freshness, but at least this MASH episode gave Margaret the chance to be interviewed by Roberts. That’s not necessarily enough to justify “Our Finest Hour’s” existence, but at least it corrected Margaret’s missing interview from the previous outing.

Source: Internet Broadway Database