15 Actors Who Insisted On Changing The Script

«M*A*S*H» is one of the most important shows of its era, bringing wartime drama to the sitcom format in one of the most unlikely successes of TV history. In the program, which ran from 1975 until 1983, Mike Farrell played Captain B.J. Hunnicutt, one of the primary characters from Season 4 of «M*A*S*H» onward. On a seventh season shoot, Farrell insisted that the script be changed in a scene that the actor deemed as medically unethical.

In the episode entitled «Preventive Medicine,» Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. are tasked with stopping a reckless Lieutenant Colonel in the only way they can, by placing him in a hospital bed with some excuse. They come to the conclusion, based on a real-life military story, of giving the man an unnecessary appendectomy to remove him from the line of duty. Farrell, however, didn’t think this was something B.J. would go through with and ultimately convinced the show’s writers to change their minds.

In the end, the drama is accentuated by the decision Hawkeye makes in spite of his friend’s position.