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M*A*S*H writers walked blindfolded in L.A. traffic to get this episode right
It was the first script from a green writing duo, and they wanted to impress by turning Hawkeye blind. One writer claims they almost died 15 times.
On M*A*S*H, the writing duo Ken Levine and David Isaacs were the brains behind some of the show’s best episodes.
They gave us "Point of View" (which won a Humanitas Prize) and "Goodbye Radar" (sending off the M*A*S*H franchise’s most recognizable face), and more than 30 others.
But the very first script that Levine and Isaacs submitted to M*A*S*H was a quirky episode you might remember called "Out of Sight, Out of Mind."
Designed to catch M*A*S*H showrunner Gene Reynolds’ eye, the plot saw Hawkeye go temporarily blind for nearly the entire episode.
To make sure their script impressed, Levine and Isaacs went the extra mile.
They hired a consultant who worked with the blind to help them make Hawkeye’s reactions to his sudden onset blindness realistic.
That consultant told the writers that there was no better way to understand blindness than to experience it. She had the writers meet her at Beverly Glen Canyon, where she blindfolded them and had them try to walk up the boulevard — one of only five major roads into Los Angeles — while heavy traffic whizzed by.
In Ken Levine’s blog, he documented the intensity of this experience, which definitely showed how committed these writers were to making M*A*S*H great, even as outsiders trying to break into the show.
"I can't say how many times we were almost killed because I couldn't see the cars," Levine wrote. "But judging by screeching brakes and horn blasts — fifteen."
Luckily, both writers made it through the experience unscathed and better informed on how to convey Hawkeye’s abrupt descent into blindness.
But Levine said in his blog that walking blind up the boulevard wasn’t actually the hardest part of writing this episode.
He said writing Hawkeye’s speech took three days because, "We just kept revising and revising, looking for better examples and imagery, trying to be heartfelt and touching without being maudlin and cliché, and if possible, work in a small laugh. At times it was too long. Other times it was too short. We just kept going around and around until we were finally happy."
Their investment of time and nerve paid off, because Levine said Reynolds loved the script, especially the speech. The script became their calling card whenever they approached new shows as writers, and it nearly always got them the gig.
"From then on he kept giving us assignments and that first script, as our new writing sample when our agent submitted us for things, was our golden ticket," Levine said.
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19 Comments
In MASH in Korea, traffic is a small problem, but I can imagine all these things coming up fast if temporarily blinded. Yes, someone who lives with blindness adjusts, but surely lots of trouble early on.
But there is no way this woman would not have let them wander out into traffic. What if they had been killed?
As to the article: "(S)ending off the M*A*S*H franchise’s most recognizable face." More recognizable that Hawkeye, the face of the series?
"Beverly Glen Canyon." Let's see, Laurel Canyon, Coldwater Canyon, and Beverly Glen all take you over the hill from the San Fernando Valley to Hollywood / Los Angeles. Not sure where "Beverly Glen Canyon" is. And there are WAY more than "only five major roads into Los Angeles." But thanks for the laugh.
You could argue that Ventura Blvd. itself will take you over the hill after it turns into Cahuenga Blvd.
