Ep 21. Movie Tonight

Hawkeye and Trapper are in a desperate need to watch a movie and get a little entertainment. They start collecting and pooling their resources with several other members of the 4077th for securing a movie for the troops. The original source of the print is a bus driver and a movie buff who is looking for some moolah to get him through college.

Hawkeye and Trapper start the process of collecting the resources by requesting donations from the nurses and medical staff, but no one seems to be forthcoming. They finally come across Frank's hidden stash of cash and decide to use it for buying the movie. However, to get past Frank Burns, they need to keep him occupied, and they show him a documentary about how to live with people.

The movie is finally secured, and everyone is eagerly looking forward to the screening. But as fate would have it, the projector breaks down, and Hawkeye and Trapper get busy trying to fix it. In the meantime, they arrange a sock hop party to keep the troops entertained while they repair the projector. But then, Radar interrupts with an emergency call from San Fransisco.

A wounded soldier is needed for immediate neurosurgery, but the only available neurosurgeon in the area has gone AWOL. The hospital in Tokyo suggests that Hawkeye performs the surgery, and he quickly gets to work. But as he gets down to operating on the soldier, the patient regains consciousness and starts chatting about the movie, his desire to watch it, and how he's heard all about it from other soldiers.

Hawkeye is initially distracted, but he manages to keep his focus and complete the surgery successfully. The patient is sent back home, and Hawkeye and Trapper get back to fixing the projector. The movie is finally screened and enjoyed by all, but Hawkeye realizes that the wounded soldier's wishes are similar to those of many other soldiers who have come through the hospital.

He decides to start something of a therapeutic movie program, where movies will be screened for the patients to help them heal and recover. The idea is quickly seconded by the rest of the team, and the hospital looks forward to future movie screenings as part of the therapeutic program.

The episode ends with the team enjoying the movie night and the soldiers being treated to some much-needed entertainment, all thanks to the effort and initiative of Hawkeye and Trapper. The idea of therapeutic movie screening becomes a hit, and it is seen as a ray of hope in an otherwise difficult and challenging period for the troops stationed at the hospital.