First Lieutenant (1LT) for O-1 and Second Lieutenant (2LT) for O-2.
I agree, they messed up something badly when it came to ranks.
There was actually one episode (don't recall the name) where Hot Lips had her branch insignia on both collars. They tried to hide it with her hair, but it was so glaringly obvious to somebody like me who grew up with a father that served in the U.S. Military. I guess the props department didn't have the Major (O-4) rank on hand, or whomever handled putting the uniforms together just lacked the basic understanding of how Military insignia is placed. I could've sworn some of them were also upside down.
Speaking of insignia, did you happen to notice that Hawkeye has the name and branch tapes above his pockets on some of the alternate first season DVD covers? The Army didn't start using them until it was mandated after the Korean conflict was over. Even back then, they weren't really subdued. I believe it was yellow lettering on a black background for the branch and black on white for the last name.
I think another goof was when the boom mic showed up in some of the Swamp scenes. That seemed to be an issue dating all the way up to the 1990s in different TV shows. Now that everything is in high-def and pretty much shot digitally, it's no longer a problem.
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[email protected] (6247)
7 years ago
I don't know anything about military insignia, but I do get a kick out of the other "goofs". In the opening credits you can see power lines in the distance. None of those Korean villages had electricity.
Margaret Houlihan had long manicured fingernails, hardly what a surgical nurse would have!
A lot of the local villagers spoke English, not very likely. No TV or radio or English language books, where would they have learned it?
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Utpe (658)
7 years ago
Hmm, I'm guessing English would have been taught by some of the Military personnel stationed overseas. I do remember them showing a scene of an instructor teaching the natives English in "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987). I suppose they probably had something similar during Korea.
Good job spotting the long fingernails on Hot Lips. I completely forgot that even a nurse would be forced to trim them But, Blake and Potter were pretty lenient Commanding Officers, so maybe they just completely ignored it. Perhaps Loretta didn't like the idea of having short nails in real life.
I do remember one episode where Mike Farrell was spotted wearing 1980s sneakers. Wow, they really did have a bunch of goofs.
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[email protected] (6247)
7 years ago
I love that scene in "Good Morning, Viet Nam". So funny. lol I don't know if the Army would have been concerned with teaching local farmers English in South Korea. Of course that happens in a lot of TV shows and movies, i.e., characters in other countries speak fluent English just so the American audience doesn't need to be bothered with reading subtitles.
I always spot long fingernails. I have them myself and I think a manicure is part of good grooming. Yes I doubt that Loretta Swit wanted to cut her nails . (I wouldn't!) That's another detail I just chalk up to an actor's personal preference. Remember Happy Days? Aside from Fronzie, none of the actors sported 1950's haircuts! No crewcuts! Their hair was waaay longer than what was fashionable back then.
There are other goofs. Remember when Radar did his John Wayne impression? It was when the film broke down in the mess hall and they were entertaining each other.
Radar says some memorable dialogue from McClintock. " I won't hit ya, I won't hit ya..." However that movie did not come out until 1963!
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