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M*A*S*H character
Though he was typically easygoing and a class clown, he also had a dark side. This was demonstrated in "Radars Report" (first aired 10/29/73) when a patient he was trying to save died in part because a wounded POW destroyed the last bottle of blood the patient desperately needed. Trapper was so enraged that he confronted the bedridden POW in a threatening manner, with serious thoughts of murdering him in retaliation for the loss of his patient. Hawkeye was able to stop him before he did anything, though, gently reminding that as a physician, he was there to save lives, not take them.
M*A*S*H TV series),
Black (in
Hair Color:
1970 film and Trapper John M.D. TV series)
Departure
Wayne Rogers was told when he accepted the role of Trapper for the TV series that Trapper and Hawkeye would be equally important, almost interchangeable. However, that changed radically when Alan Alda was cast as Hawkeye, and as the Hawkeye Pierce character proved to be the more popular of the two characters amongst fans of the show by its third season. By the end of the third season, Rogers was fed up with the fact that Trapper was being treated as a sidekick instead of an equal. Even though at the latter half of the third season, the show's writers started to flesh out and develop Trapper's out a bit more, Rogers still decided to depart at season/s end, and his character was written out of the series.
At the beginning of the fourth season, Hawkeye returns from R & R in Tokyo to find that Trapper has been discharged. Upon hearing the news, Hawkeye learns, an ecstatic Trapper ran through the mess tent naked. Radar had tried to reach Hawkeye in Tokyo to alert him of Trapper's departure, but without success. Trapper left no goodbye note but did "give" Radar a kiss on the cheek to pass on to Hawkeye, which he very reluctantly does. Trapper John was referred to a few times in the series after his departure, most notably in an episode in which B.J. Hunnicutt, hearing of the pranks played by Trapper John, attempts to show that he in fact is "the number one scamp". Trapper was also referenced in the episode, Period of Adjustment. B.J. is overcome with envy of Radar's discharge, and says he almost hates Radar because he is home while B.J. is still in Korea, then mentioning that he feels the same way about Trapper even though the two have never met. In the final episode, B.J. is discharged from the army and leaves while Hawkeye is under psychiatric treatment. He must leave so quickly after hearing the news that he has no time even to leave a note, echoing Trapper's failure to do so at his departure. (Hunnicutt's orders are rescinded, however, and he gets only as far as Guam before being sent back, by which time Hawkeye has been released.) Despite his friendship with Hawkeye, it is suggested that Trapper never bothered to contact him for the duration of the war (perhaps to apologize for his awkward departure); even though that was completely selfish and out of character on his part, it was probably the writers' intent to not let his departed character cast a negative shadow upon his successor, B.J. A goof in the series is him being shown as a Captain; according to the US Army Alamac 1959 {.p.149} Captain's rank could only be acheived after 7 years service; in fact he would probably have been a 1st Lt. {3 years}
Played by: Series/Film appeared in:
2 daughters (mentioned on
M*A*S*H TV series)
Relatives/Children: Dr. John 'J.T.' McIntyre, Jr., M.D. (son) (on Trapper John,
M.D. TV series}
Appearances First appeared in: "Pilot" (Season 1, Series pilot) "Abyssinia, Henry" (Season 4 Last appeared in:
finale)
1970 MASH film and M*A*S*H and Trapper John, M.D. TV series Elliott Gould (MASH film) Wayne Rogers M*A*S*H TV
series
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27/03/2014
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